Let’s set the scene: It’s currently 12:46 a.m., and I’m sitting on my bed eating leftover Thai food while typing this. More importantly, the fairy lights on my ceiling are shining brighter than ever above the speaker playing “What’s Up” by the 4 Non Blondes. You may ask, “What inspired this immaculate vibe?” Well, I just finished watching the season finale of“Everything I Know About Love” (EIKAL) directed by China Moo-Young and Julia Ford. It definitely met my expectations as a show adaptation of Dolly Alderton’s beautifully written memoir that goes by the same name.
If you currently find yourself in your late teens or early twenties, this book will do a number on you. As a high schooler, I remember eating up Alderton’s book in a way only a naive teenager who felt so curious about the world would.
We learn about how the quick-witted tall girl survives the overwhelming years of grade school, insufferable breakups, an unhealthy relationship with alcohol and the pressures of growing up. Even through the darkness, she lets us in on the golden moments with great vulnerability. Alderton also writes about her life in London living with spunky flat mates, career-related successes and failures and even the late-night recipes she used to cook after wild nights out. While reading these stories, expect to laugh ferociously and maybe even shed a few tears.
A Virgo with a Gemini ascendent is a recipe for a talented journalist: an outgoing perfectionist. It’s no wonder that Alderton led such a successful career. Before dedicating herself to freelance writing, she worked full-time in television. She dabbled in reality shows, comedy and even directed a couple of short films.
Today, the writer holds a general column with The Sunday Times and has written for other well-known publications like Cosmopolitan and GQ. If you’re interested in following more of her work, Alderton released a 17-episode podcast called “Love Stories” (2018) and co-hosts a pop culture podcast known as “The High Low”(2017). It seems that I’m not the only one who looks up to her, considering she has been nominated for various awards and was shortlisted for the British Society of Magazine Editors award for columnist of the year in 2019.
“It may seem that life is difficult at times, but it’s really as simple as breathing in and out,” writes Alderton in EIKAL. This National Book Award winning memoir isn’t great because it gives you all the answers to life. It’s great because it opens up a little universe that reminds readers they are not alone. With sentences that sound like poetry when read out loud and a curse word here and there, Alderton delivers a perfect balance of wisdom and humor. Reading her words is kind of like talking to one of your best friends.
Now that I’ve hit 20 years old, I realize just how right Alderton was: this decade really is such a wild ride. In a time of uncertainty, I’m sure we could all learn something from the tales she so humorously recalls. Hinted in the title, a manifesto of profound love lives in between these pages. Love for friendship, romance, dreams, fun, sexual freedom, food, confidence, the kindness of strangers and so much more. Without censorship of heartbreak and awkwardness, Alderton sugar coats nothing. She unveils the inevitable ups and downs of navigating adulthood, forever reminding us that we can find light through the cracks.
